April ends as hottest and driest on record

Britain's beaches remained busy yesterday as the hottest April on record drew to a close.

Bournemouth beach saw temperatures of 23C while the south-west of England was even hotter with temperatures of 24.5C.

North Wales, which usually sees maximum temperatures of 16C at this time of year, was a balmy 20C.

Stewart Wortley, a forecaster for the Met Office, said that not only was this expected to be the hottest April since records began in 1772, but in many areas it was also likely to be the driest.

"Parts of south-east England have had less than 1mm of rainfall this month, while the average for the region in April is 51mm," he said. The South-west has only had 8mm.

But he added there was "only between a 15 per cent and 17 per cent chance" that this summer would be hotter than 2006 and 2003. And although the warm weather was likely to continue for the rest of the week, the middle of May is forecast to be unsettled and changeable.